So I sent a very nice letter to a school that offered me $, and they asked me to provide them with the other offers I received. I sent them my award letter from another school (ranked higher than them) who offered me $$.

I just received a letter in the mail stating that they are increasing my award amount by $500.

Neidermeyer519 wrote:So did you email them, and then they sent this via snail mail? I was kinda curious because I am about to begin negotiations with my target school. Just waiting on one more offer to come in.

I emailed them, was told they are not considering increases, then received the increased offer via snailmail. I can't imagine they think a $500 increase would actually sway me.

But, if I send them 60 more requests and get $500 with each request, I can get full tuition. I have work to do...

Neidermeyer519 wrote:So did you email them, and then they sent this via snail mail? I was kinda curious because I am about to begin negotiations with my target school. Just waiting on one more offer to come in.

I emailed them, was told they are not considering increases, then received the increased offer via snailmail. I can't imagine they think a $500 increase would actually sway me.

But, if I send them 60 more requests and get $500 with each request, I can get full tuition. I have work to do...

+1

I can't see the reasoning behind 500 either, unless they had already given you a full ride and were throwing some stiped/book money your way. So did you send an inquiry email, then a negotiation email, or did you just straight away send the negotiation email?

I sent the negotiation via email. I never sent an inquiry because I thought it was kind of pointless. I have read the threads on negotiating, but my experiences are not in line with what was written.

I have sent inquiries to other schools, and more than once I got a response from someone in financial aid encouraging me to fill out my FAFSA, and asking my why I don't anticipate being eligible for need-based aid. It ended up opening a can of worms, when all I really wanted to do was say "look, here's a peer who offered me more - will you consider offering me more?"

I was always very respectful, explaining why I was looking for more merit aid. It wasn't simply "give me more" but I explained specifically why scholarships were a large part of the decision-making process for me on where to attend.